The It Ain't Magic Science Blog

Physiological origami and proper body development in flies

Genetics and mechanical origami in the fly embryo helps proper body development by fighting off “noisy” fluctuations is the environment.

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Stem cell exhaustion and proliferation: An aging fly’s tale

Blocking the gene ced-6 led to stem cell exhaustion in aging fruit flies and prevented repair of damaged intestines.

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New treatment assembles cancer drug inside the body

Cancer drugs assembled inside the body on cancer cells should reduce harmful side effects to other tissue.

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Centennial RIKEN Research

???This Spring we’ve put together a special centennial issue of RIKEN Research ???

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Sphingolipid S1P: Potential new target for schizophrenia treatment

Sphingolipid S1P is reduced in brain white matter of people with schizophrenia, making S1P receptors a good target for new treatments.

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Robotic exoskeleton learns to help people stand up

This new robotic exoskeleton uses machine learning to know when users want help standing up.

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Latest research animations

Self-assembly of spider silk

This gut microbe might protect against diabetes and reduce insulin resistance

NEW: One-way hydrogel guides motion of tiny worms!

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The free-energy principle explains neural network behavior

Scientists show that the free-energy principle can explain how neural networks work.

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Fall is here, and with it comes the latest issue of RIKEN Research. This issue covers tactile learning during sleep, supercomputers and simulations, solar cells, fly olfaction, tumor vaccines, and more

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Award-winning 3D images of living cells

An interview with Yuko Kiyosue, discussing the 3D images of living cells that gained her and her colleagues a recent award.

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Astrocytes powered by norepinephrine during fear-memory formation

Norepinephrine released in the locus coeruleus during fear learning is accompanied by increased calcium and cAMP levels in nearby astrocytes.

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Super-thin wearable electronics just got more flexible

A method for making super-flexible and ultra-thin wearable electronics uses water-vapor plasma to create gold-gold bonds.

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Getting a grip on slow but unique shark evolution

Scientists have decoded the genomes of two species of shark, bringing the grand total of sequenced shark genomes to three.

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Dec

Robotic researcher to the rescue

by admin | Drop of science, Interviews

Masaki Watabe talks about automated robotic researchers, future robot rule, and scientific philosophy.

Dec

RIKEN Research Winter Issue

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

It’s almost the end of the year and a here’s an early holiday present! The winter issue of RIKEN Research is here, covering plant parasites, depression, atomic clocks, and more! Enjoy!

Dec

The geometry of consciousness is a multi-dimensional math trip

by admin | Research Highlight

Amanda Alvarez writes about how neuroscientists are studying consciousness with mathematics

Oct

RIKEN Research Fall Issue

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Sep

Locating social memories in the brain

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have identified where social memories are stored in the brains of mice. Mice are forgotten because memories cannot be retrieved.

Sep

Big news in iPS cell transplants

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

iPS cell-derived retinal cells have been successfully transplanted from one monkey to another without need of immunosuppressant drugs.

Aug

In Japan, women in science seek allies, resources in push for gender equality

by admin | What's Up With Us

neuroamanda talks about gender equality for female scientists is Japan.

Aug

Measuring altitude — with clocks?

by jens wilkinson | Drop of science

Measuring altitude using atomic clocks seems like a crazy idea, but it’s already being done at RIKEN in Japan

Aug

The sound of molecules: NMR-inspired music

by adam phillips | Research in Depth, Science Heavy

Science & art: how NMR works and how NMR spectra have been used to compose music based on molecular structures.

Talking science Illustration with Misaki Ouchida

Whether it’s bird anatomy or science cartoons, Masaki Ouchida can do it all. She spoke with us about her career in science illustration, from the US to Japan.

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Why (mouse) mothers take risks to protect their infants

The calcitonin receptor and its ligand amylin act in the brain to motivate mouse mothers to protect their pups, even in risky/dangerous situations.

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New lab-grown retinal sheets almost ready for clinical trials

A new retinal transplant technique works by preventing bipolar cells from maturing in lab-grown retinal sheets.

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Next stop: clinical hair regeneration

A new recipe for continuous cyclical hair regeneration in mice. This means that the hair will continue to fall out and regrow like normal hair.

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Dec

Evolution of the inner ear: insights from jawless fish

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

A new story for inner ear evolution based on the developmental patterning found in hagfish, one of two extant jawless vertebrates and a link to the last common ancestor of modern jawed vertebrates.

Dec

Tumor detection during breast cancer surgery

by jens wilkinson | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed a new way to accurately detect the margins between cancerous and non-cancerous tissue during breast cancer surgery.

Nov

Smarter AI: machine learning without negative data

by masataka sasabe | Hot Off the Press

Scientists have developed a new method for machine learning that allows an AI to make better classifications without negative data.

Nov

Nerdnite recap: When the brainbow met the boson

by admin | Drop of science

Fun times at nerdnite tokyo. Brains, bosons, and math, oh my!

Nov

Mutations, CRISPR, and spinocerebellar ataxia

by adam phillips | Hot Off the Press

Scientists discover that mutations causing the degenerative movement disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 29 work by disrupting calcium release of neurons inside the brain.